New TIME Cover on Glenn Beck Ignores Facts, and Worse

I have no quarrel with TIME magazine devoting a cover to Glenn Beck -- so long as the accompanying story sticks to hard facts and harsh truths. The issue coming tomorrow, online today, sadly fails to do so in an apparent effort to woo the rightwing with a ludicrously "balanced" treatment of equally dangerous and wacko "ranting" coming from left and right.

It starts right away with a first paragraph that claims that only "liberal sources" estimated the protest crowd in D.C. last weekend as about 70,000, while conservatives say up to a million or more. Actually, virtually all mainstream media sources (even some on Fox News) endorse a far lower number. PolitiFact, the nonpartisan fact-checking site, cited an officer for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Department telling a reporter that, unoffically, he thought between 60,000 and 75,000 people had shown up.

If you get your information from liberal sources, the crowd numbered about 70,000, many of them greedy racists. If you get your information from conservative sources, the crowd was hundreds of thousands strong, perhaps as many as a million, and the tenor was peaceful and patriotic.

In this nugget TIME's David Von Drehle revealed his method. The "left" says one thing, the "right" another and, hell, who is to know the truth? He returns to this late in the piece by raising the crowd estimate gap again and explaining it as merely "who do you trust?"

Repeatedly he refers to mere "suspicion and feelings of helplessness" -- as if that was all to the ugly words and behavior we have seen, and that it was a natural response to Obama's "takeover," not something darker, and Beck-related. Ditto for casting these Americans as "scared" -- but why and on what basis are they scared?

There's a scattering of extreme Beck quotes lost in many paragraphs on the money deals. And groups like Media Matters are accused of "cherry picking" the bad ones. But then, they are just part of the "rant industry" on the left. There's a long, long graf quoting Beck on 9/11 and the Freedom Towers but no mention of his attack on the 9/11 widows. It notes his assault on the Obama "czars" and "he has some radical-sounding sound bites to back it up."

Ignorance and possible racism are never raised, despite polls showing that frightening numbers of conservatives believe that Obama was born in Kenya or may, in fact, be the "anti-Christ." (Don't miss David Brooks claiming for these people "race is largely beside the point" in his latest column).

And consider this, early in the piece:

The old American mind-set that Richard Hofstadter famously called "the paranoid style" -- the sense that Masons or the railroads or the Pope or the guys in black helicopters are in league to destroy the country -- is aflame again, fanned from both right and left. Between the liberal fantasies about Brownshirts at town halls and the conservative concoctions of brainwashed children goose-stepping to school, you'd think the Palm in Washington had been replaced with a Munich beer hall.

Notice that the paranoia is said to be fanned equally by left and right. Also the lunatic fears of goosestepping children contrasted with Brownshirtism -- some elements of which we did see at town halls and elsewhere, not to mention in statements and signs at the D.C. protest.

Beck, meanwhile, is only a mere "exploiter" of paranoia, Birtherism and fear, not a prime architect. Von Drehle pictures him as merely an "entrepreneur of angst in a white-hot market. A man with his ear uniquely tuned to the precise frequency at which anger, suspicion and the fear that no one's listening all converge." Conservatives are only driven by "economic uncertainty and political weakness." And Beck, hell, he is mainly just an "entertainer." He is compared to Al Franken, described as a lefty who made a lot of money ranting in the past -- as if Franken had not somehow gotten elected as a U.S. Senator in a moderate state.

You'd never know why there is an advertiser boycott of Beck's show and why so many have joined it. All you'd know is the organizer of the boycott is enjoying the "publicity." Von Drehle briefly quotes Beck's infamous claim that Obama hates white people--then hastens to add that Beck says he doesn't "actually" believe this. No harm, no foul.

One of my favorite lines, however, arrives when Von Drehle laments that trust in the mainstream media has reached a new low. And no wonder, given articles like this.

So all in all: TIME has run out.

UPDATE: Just got the print edition. In editor's note, Richard Stengel actually writes, "One of our jobs as journalists is to be the referee, the honest broker who sorts through the accusations and says, This is fact, and this is fantasy." Then explains that's why they put Von Drehle on Beck. To see cover image, go here.

Greg Mitchell is editor of Editor & Publisher and his latest book, his ninth, is "Why Obama Won." Email: [e-mail]. Twitter: @GregMitch

Note: An earlier version of this column said that PolitiFact had joined leading media in endorsing the under-75,000 crowd size for the D.C. protest. Actually, as noted above, it cited that estimate from a Fire Dept. spokesman in this range and also called a hoax the aerial photo of the crowd circulated by conservatives that was actually several years old.

 

 

Follow Greg Mitchell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/GregMitch

Comments

[Donna Jonas]

I believe it was Lawrence O' Donnell who mentioned the other night that the reason the term "czar" was coined to refer to these special advisers is because some journalists got lazy and didn't feel like typing the persons actual title. And, now we have Glenn Beck and his McCarthyism train making it their mission to root out the communist czars from the administration. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[rshrink]

Yes and this was started by Reagan.

[patsijean]

Just this week I had considered subscribing to TIME again. NOT GONNA NOW.

I subscribed and read TIME Magazine for years, enjoying their factual and interesting articles but my subscription had lapsed . Their research and adherence to factual reporting was impressive even if it was not always flattering to the subject of the article. This pandering for a reason I cannot fathom is abhorrent.

[shootingshrink]

I hear this a lot: pundits from the Left and the Right are
equally biased and untruthful.
In some overall historical sense this may be true but not
precisely now.
Pundits like Beck on the Right seem anti-government itself, anti -democratic, pro-white American and
pro-corporate. Their message is as pro-revolution of some sort as some of the Left was in the 60s.
It was as important to see that Jane Fonda crossed the line by going to Hanoi as
it is to see that Beck agitates to cross the line every night.

[DuPageDem]

TIME also had nice things to say about Der Scramblebrains when they put him on the cover back in the '30s. Transnational corporations like their front-man stooges -- who knew?

[isis]

I got the issue and the cover is so ugly--an unattractive grown man sticking out his tongue like a naughty self absorbed child, that I recycled it without reading it. Most people do not want to read about temper tantrums unless it is how to help children grow out of them. I hope the advertisers know they threw their money away.

[goldfinger007]

Glenn Beck is my hero!!!!! Go ahead Glenn- rile up all the bleeding heart liberals with your common sense...

Goldfinger007

[isis]

It would be interesting to have an article about the pain of living with a spouse who has had fear and paranoia and immaturity fanned by people like Beck. My father-in-law was like that and he was painful to be around in many respects. He was in his 90s and had never really grown up, only grown older and more paranoid. When a grown man is prone to frequent outbursts it is not enjoyable for the family. You tend to lose respect for the person which leads to more outburtss. A sad cycle.

[pretzel logic47]

Other "heroes" on oldfinger's list:
Joe McCarthy
Lord Haw Haw
Tokyo Rose

[GreatTruthsSeeker]

Beck is a prime example of an individual suffering from cognitive constipation and frequent intermittent cognitive diarreah, with no homeostasis in evidence.

He is also a perfect example of the fact that in our world ignorance is not bliss, it's propagated and quite malignant.

[apolloguide]

Man-child of the Year. The dream is over babies !

Savagery is now the game the Republicans want to play. They have abandoned civilization and now we enter their DOOM world. Their life is a video game thanks to the US Army and that is a deep as they can get intellectually.

[mikeccc]

I was surprised and disappointed to see that Timewas were giving this racist baboon of Beck credibility by having him on their cover page. If his insanity was not already beyond repair, imagine what this mistake does for his ego and his desire to continue making a fool of himself and many others. I am very concerned, as Time should, that this faux pas gives him any more credence and license to say anything that comes to his mind like calling our President a racist.

[Gatorray11]

The real question is why does Fox News allow Glenn Beck to make such outrageous, race baiting and fear mongering statements?

You have to start with the fact that Fox is not a real network. It is a far right organ of the Republican Party. It is the Pravda Network of the Republican Party. The man who runs Fox is Roger Ailes, a fear monger who was one of the men benhind the Willie Horton ad.

As a former political reporter and a strong believer in the Bill of Rights I am a real believer that Republicans and Fox have First Amendment rights just like as anybody. But even partisan networks have responsibilities. And we all -- regardless of our political and ideological views -- should condemn excessive hate and fear mongering that can set off unbalanced people.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled how hate mongering of gays led to the assassination of a mayor and councilman in San Francisco. Hate mongering preceded the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and RFK. On the right we saw attempts on the lives of both Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Fortunately both men survived, but they were close calls.

It's time for Republican adults to step in and ask people like the thrice divorced drug addict, the sex falafel man Bill O'Reilly, the hate monger Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity to cool it.

[Gatorray11]

Why are Republican adults -- John McCain, Robert Dole, Peggy Noonan -- not speaking out and asking these nuts to cool it. There are plenty of issues, philosophical differences, questions about the direction of government and issues to criticize Obama about. There is no reason for hate and fear mongering, race baiting and other verbal grenades those on the lunatic right are throwing.

The birther movement is one example. The state of Hawaii destroyed the paper version of birth certificates and computerized them. But to me the most telling thing how bogus this issue is that his birth was announced in the Honolulu newspaper in 1961. How can you fake this?

Yet, I have seen Liz Cheney, daughter of Tricky Dickey II, blame the birthers on Obama's policies -- including his "movement toward socialized medicine." For the last eight years her father was kept alive with the best "socialized medicine" money can buy. But if it is in her mind so bad, why did her father use it so often?

Beck makes inflamatory statesments that make no sense. He said Obama is a racist who hates white people. His mother and his grandmother, who raised him and whom heloved dearly, were white. So why does Fox News let such a hate monger on the air? Do good ratings and the ends justify the means permit the Republican Pravda network get away with such fraud? Will we see no action unless and until some unbalanced lunatic takes a shot at Obama?

[FatnHappy]

I think many of you who hate this guy see things with rose colored lenses and honestly dont expect anything different on this homegeneous site. You all probably also think because I dissent Im racist. Funny when W was in office dissent was patriotic. Beck is controversial and at times sensationalistic and over the top but so are all the media mouths, however he's no O'reilley. To his credit whether you like it or not he reports on things the mainstream news doesn't and usually beats them to the punch,most likely because they feel real news might hurt their agenda. I recommend you all go to the library if you dont want to go and by the book but take a second and read his book Common Sense. I thought it was insightful and positions many of his arguements, from a point of common sense. He is critical of republicans just as he is of democrats.. infact his position is that we should all be independents and not be beholden to any party. It may open your eyes .Whatever happened to question authority, or was that just the cool bumper sticker to put on your car?

[isis]

I noticed that the people who had that bumper sticker did not themselves want to be questioned, just for starters. Maturity is being open to discussion and Beck is not. He himself is a no-nothing authority figure--the worst kind of all.

[golferman]

You are a joke. Really trying to sound half way intelligent. There is nothing positive about Beck at all. But really good spin from you.

[golferman]

What a joke. Really trying to sound half way intelligent are we. There is nothing positive about Beck at all. But this is really good spin.

[ramper]

Mr. Mitchell, you should have been a boxing referee. You would only have to keep two fighters apart. A far easier job than separating political wackos of each party from doing serious harm.

[MissDaphne]

Jason Linkins is right--the cover shot really does look like he's consuming a male member.

[Torrentlover]

I'll be canceling my subscription to Time first thing tomor.. oh wait, did that already 6 years ago.

How can anyone buy this POS when they have (or had at least) more adds than articles?

[navretvet]

I cancelled mine today and am getting a refund for the remainder, They can keep thier rag I'll get my info elsewhere.

[nogdon]

I would'nt read anything that might go against what you already think is true. This is how we get our news these days. Watch or read only what you want to hear. This way you never have to think. right and left wingers have lost the ability to think for themselves!

[no account plebe]

Mr. Mitchell--
Enjoyed reading your viewpoint on Glenn Beck's role in the current Political Turmoil.
1. Why does every essay or article about American Politics start from the assumption that Political Leadership is somehow "well-intentioned" and that the American Citizen in the Street is "crazy"??
2. Do we honestly think that the average american does NOT understand his own living conditions and is being "unreasonable" to paint outrageous things on signboards and shout at politicans??
I suggest that somebody, PLEASE, go back and study what happened in 1815 to the 14th Congress of the United States. The "leadership" of that day considered the American Citizen to be nothing but an uneducated rabble that needed to shut up and let the knowledgable upper class run things, so they gave themselves a small pay raise(a little like Parliement raising extra cash to defend the colonies with a Stamp Tax).......the following year, nearly 80% of the incumbants were flushed out of office.
Now, THAT, is American Democracy in action.

[rshrink]

That is what happened when Obama was elected. But the wealthy fat cats are doing whatever they can to get back in power. That is the royalty trying to defeat democracy in action.

[Gatorray11]

Dick Armey, the former Republican Majority Leader in the House, devised a plan to bus corporate goons to Town Hall meetings during the August recess.

He outlinedhow to interrupt meetings, make sure citizens with legitimate questions don't get to ask them and how to make sure only the crazies will dominate. It was a page out of the goons his fellow right winger, Tom DeLay, sent down to Miami-Dade County when of the Bushistas stole the 2000 election. His goons staged a mini riot to ensure the votes in the Democratic County were NOT COUNTED. The goons were flown in Enron planes.

The Republicans stole that election even before thevote count. Against a court order, Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Secretary of State Kathleen Harris -- with help of Choice Point -- purged 92,000 blacks. Reporter Greg Palast documents it well. Now blacks voted over 90 percent for Al Gore. Let's say only half of them voted. George II carried the state by less than 600 votes. You do the math. But a Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court crowned him President.

Now the Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme is getting ready to rscue the Republicans again. They are getting ready to rule that corporations may resort to corporate funds to finance elections. Legalized briber will be the result. So don't give me the BS that we can't trust the average citizen. What we can't trust is corporate power to manipulate and circumvent the average citizen.